Princess Mononoke Revealed: The Real Mythology & History Explained

The characters Princess Mononoke & Lady Eboshi could also be tapping into the Lilith/Eve duality of the Archetypal Feminine (in my humble opinion). one of my favorite Miyazaki films by far! Thanks

"forest spirit, we give you back your head! take it, and be at peace!" his hatred is quelled and his head returned, but it is too late. only long enough to transform the black ooze of death into an elixir that heals all.

I'm loving this! I just finished watching Princess Mononoke for the 3rd time and learning about the lore & mythology just made the story even more meaningful.

will say, mononoke is closer to "sickness" as in illness and not "vengeance", as well as "princess of ailing gods" is a more thematically appropriate description as well.

Many people complain about representation in media are completely ignorant of Anime
Probably Anime is single handedly reviving and preserving every tradition/religion at present

Thinking about how the forest spirit gets it's head back for a brief moment before it dies, I think it's final act was to spread as much life and healing as it could. A lot of people died from the black life-sucking goop, but as the plants come back we do see a brief shot of some of the people in the lake and the lepers seem to have been magically healed.

Could one say that Princess Mononoke is a modern legend?

"Princess of the Spirit of Vengeance" Man that's a great title in itself

it's very sad that the wolf native to japan went extinct, and only a century ago too. makes the inclusion of wolves in the movie that much sadder

emishi is not ainu.
ainu went to rossia once, then they retarned hokkaido.

Hayao Miyazaki was a genius

I am sorry but the explanations are very rough, particularly the earlier part.

Emishi: They are not only from Tohoku(the Northeastern area), they existed all over Japan and then they were pushed to the East, due to the growing power of the Yamato people (West/Central Japan). Emishi was the name given to signify "the people in the East". In Japan the most "antique" generation was called Jomon. Emishi were the indigenous people who were said to maintain the Jomon culture. Ainu people are the Northern tribe which maintains strong Jomon features while the people in the mainland Japan became mostly mixed.

Worms/Snakes: Jomon artifacts are excavated all over Japan, showing quite a uniform feature--the swirl. It represents the sheer flow of energy, sometimes fire (famous artifact: Kaen-doki). Tatarigami's "snake/worm-like" state shows his boiling emotion and energy. When Ashitaka showed the cursed marking from the Tatarigami, those marks almost blend in with the background, which is, a pottery with the same swirling pattern (very intentional cut given by Miyazaki). So it is NOT a kodoku, which is a particular method for sorcery to pick up the strongest offering for the grudging ritual.

Tatari: It is not just the ghost that makes tatari, it is made by gods as well. As a Japanese kid, we were told not to misbehave in shrines or we will get tatari from the god. It is occasionally not just a simple punishment but you get possessed by the god for a while and lead to misfortune, including your surroundings, like things breaking down in your house/family getting sick etc. Interestingly, Ashitaka, the cursed one, is the "surrounding" here--It is Eboshi who receives the most hates, but it is Ashitaka who bore the curse. It almost makes him the "cursed item" (like the aforementioned scene)--that is why his clan had to let him go saying that he was "dead", as he was no longer a human, in a sense. Ashitaka's clan and mononoke breath and exist in the same world setting while Eboshi is not; it is the utmost reason why she never gets cursed. The elder members in Ashitaka's clan lamenting their destiny and shrinking community is parallel to Okkotonushi’s disappointed remarks on his clan getting smaller individuals without the speaking ability and becoming just a bunch of pitiful beasts. This suggests also the future of Ashitaka if the curse is not lifted--he will become a beast.

It always made me sad that Ashitaka and San dont get together, but since the end was left quite open, in my head canon they do get together as lovers and protect the forest together.

My mom bought this for me when I was like 13.I watched it again now 28 and am still blown away.Even if someone isn't into anime I can't imagine not enjoying it

How do you spell that? Tatari?

"Tsuchinoko huh? So how does it taste?"
"UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ARE YOU TO EAT IT!"

Just watched this for the first time last night. I literally can't get enough.

I will take a trip to yukashima so i relive the movie and find the review or comment like this.

wow. this is the first video I have seen that mentions Moroboshi's Mad Men. His manga had a tremendous influence on Miyazaki, and on other creators as well.
However, they are completely unknown outside of Japan. By the way, the doomsday spell "Vals" in "castle in the sky" appears in Mad Men.

Tbh I thought it was some kind of capricorn, not an antelope. 😅

So moro is really just a pokemon

came across your Spirited Away vid and this one yesterday, and I'm so fascinated by the mythology and inspiration for the movies! I've already been intrigued by Miyazaki's use of Japanese folklore in his movies, and hearing about the myths themselves is always so interesting. You've mentioned that Lady Eboshi's iron furnace is called a "tatara" - In Genshin Impact's Japanese inspired region Inazuma there's a place called "Tatarasuna", a furnace that was closed years before and surrounded by a kind of radiation. Thank you so much for putting these videos up for us! <3

Was an awesome Manga, but why did the god of the Woods got killed?

One of my all time favorite movies. Great story, great characters, great villains. What's not to like?

To me, the face of the forest spirit looked more like an African deer ceremonial mask than a depiction of any Japanese art I've seen. The first time seeing the face of the forest spirit, it struck me as artistically different, more elongated and colorful, so I looked it up... Many African masks represent animals. Some African communities believe that the animal masks can help them communicate with the spirits who live in forests or open savannah. I believe it's hard to break down an artists intent because most are getting inspiration from the subconscious. Most artists aren't intentionally taking inspiration form any one source.

This movie change me, change the way I view movies and make me ask questions I didnt have answer for.
I adore it. Its in my top 4 with Shawshank redemption, Fight club and Trainspotting.

The forest apes with red eyes, there are legends from lots of places from the Yeti to Sasquatch, even old European ones and in some of them the ones with red eyes eat human flesh.

a beautiful but sad movie, the humans ruined everything with greed and selfishness as per usual

ah yes my queer awakening movie

A masterpiece

My daughter now 14, grew up watching this from the age of 3, Ponyo, Howls Moving Castle, Castle in the sky, Kiki's delivery service, Pom Poko, Spirited Away, Porco Rosso, The Children that listen to lost voices, Wolf Children, Vampire Hunter D 1 & 2, Galaxy Express 999, Eureka, Inuyasha, Fairy Tail, The Cat Returns, ( one of my all time favorites ) Totoro.. I feel as if these movies have context to them, something to learn each time you watch, there's so much in the details that you couldn't catch it all the first or second time.

...to see with eyes unclouded by hate ❤

I love that the “villain” Lady Eboshi really isn’t a villain at all. Yes she’s causing harm to nature but she just wants to create a world that is safe for her people who have been rejected by larger society. She’s ruthless but she also has a very honorable motivation.

The TRUE villain is the monk who just wants a payout from the Emperor for the Forest Spirit’s head.

this was really informative! havent seen this movie in a good 23 years now. sounds like its due for a revisit.


damn you, YT Algorithm

Pretty cool👍

I also just wanted to say that the name "San" isn't a real name. So Princess Mononoke doesn't actually have a name. Which makes sense because she was abandoned, making her an orphan.

This movie confused me when I first saw it. To me, it seems as if it was borrowing from many mythologies from all across the world.

Ashitaka also says at the movie's end that the Forest God didn't die because he symbolizes the circle of life and death. Still, it doesn't mean he would return to the woods (obviously, I wouldn't return to those who killed me for their silly belief in immortality). As a result, the woods can no longer revive if humans clash again, as no god is there to do so.

i wanna live in that world right there, might not be lucrative or whatever but that’d feel like eternity around every corner beauty

Fun side note, the japanese used in this movie are all 100 formal. Also, the period appears to be the Muramachi period in Japan.

Mononokes look also remind me of the costumes youd see in the “Kagura” dance, Where performers often wear a mask and a large wig, resembling Mononokes fur and mask.
Kagura dance is a sort of worship of kami (gods/spirits) which also matches Mononokes values

I hate miyazaki tho

That's my spirit animal the boer

For 97 the animation is so choppy and bad

A.D.